Sébastien FARAMOND

Chef : 1 restaurant Trained at the Robuchon school and having worked at La Chèvre d'Or and La Ferme Saint-Siméon, Sébastien Faramond has created one of France’s finest kitchens at the Hôtel de Pavie in Saint-Émilion, earning 4 toques and a score of 18/20.

Presentation

For Gault&Millau, which has been following Sébastien Faramond since his first stint as a chef at La Ferme Saint-Siméon in Honfleur, his evolution has been truly impressive. The chef from Albi, who was trained in the Robuchon school , has become one of the great masters of the Bordeaux region—one of those chefs spoken of as having a personal vision. And they are rare.

From Monaco to La Chèvre d’Or: The Formative Years

Sébastien Faramond’s career path is as classic as it gets over the past twenty years. Joël Robuchon’s team in Monaco, the kitchen, but also the gala dinners: this was invaluable training for toughening up under the Côte d’Azur sun. There he met Ronan Kervarrec, whom he would later join at La Chèvre d’Or. “It was a very rewarding time for me. I arrived there in 2010, as sous-chef under Fabrice Vullin, then Ronan, and finally Arnaud Faye in my last year.” Great chefs, the demands of the highest level—everything to hone his craft, but also the certainty of finding his place.

From Honfleur to Saint-Émilion, the path to his own kitchen

It was offered to him by Jacques Maximin, thanks to a stroke of luck. “ We met at Les Étoiles de Mougins. We didn’t know each other, but he had heard of me. When he told me there was a chef’s position in Honfleur, even though I didn’t know Normandy, with the chef’s recommendation, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity. I stayed there for three years.” Circumstances, in the small world of top restaurants, changed the game once again. “Ronan Kervarrec had become chef in Saint-Émilion, at the Hostellerie de Plaisance. He made me an offer, and since I was very tempted to return to my native southwestern region, I followed him.” Another turning point in 2020: Ronan seized the opportunity to take over David Etcheverry’s Saison in his native Brittany, and Sébastien found himself at the helm of the Hostellerie de Plaisance, with Yannick Alléno as master of ceremonies.

The Hôtel de Pavie, four toques, and a meteoric rise

“He’s someone I admire greatly. I loved what he was doing at Le Meurice, and when he offered me the chance to stay and take over the kitchen, I said yes right away. It’s been eight years now, and everything has changed.” Even the name of the establishment, which became the Hôtel de Pavie. “Covid was almost a blessing in disguise for me. I could travel back and forth to Paris, test new dishes with the chef, exchange ideas as much as I wanted, and learn a great deal. Yannick Alléno helped me change the way I view cooking—starting with the ingredient to get the best out of it, thinking not in terms of recipes, but questioning things from the very heart of the ingredient.” In just a few years, the evolution has been remarkable. The four toques were retained in 2021, the score rose to 17.5 the following year, reaching 18/20 in 2025: one of the best restaurants in France.